In addition to keeping the same appearance and unfortunately avoiding entertaining mutations after a decade of bodily experimentation, splicers still have the same rudimentary AI, and I'm not sure which is more impressive: the fact that you can't differentiate enemies between the first or second game, or the fact they haven't gotten any smarter. Fortunately the addition of multiplayer takes this hectic, Plasmid combining combat and makes a more fluid, fast-paced fray between human opponents. It's difficult to work up fervor against enemies as fickle as Rapture's or antagonists as flat as Lamb; PwnU420 is much easier. 2k Marin does a good job of developing your online persona, with tiers and abilities unlocking on higher levels. Fights are punctuated with terrific, realistic sound effects, and an understated score of jazz and eerie period pieces giving off a Jeepers Creepers vibe. Enemy vocals are more comical and silly than scary, and voice-acting is solid but somewhat offensive; everyone sounds like a stereotype, a sleazy city-slicker, wild-eyed bayou fanatic, or a Wife Lovejoy asking us to "please think of the children." These characters match the absurdity of the writing, and make Rapture all the more disturbing. Another improvement is your interactivity with Little Sisters. You have the option of adopting them and gathering ADAM together.
While she works, it's your job to defend her from waves of splicers. Then you can press a button to Save or Harvest her. It still is not revealed how you have these powers. I don't buy the moral malevolence of harvesting Little Sisters or pat myself on the back for what a good boy I am when I save them; I simply work towards the best net result. If I get more ADAM from sparing a ugly kid with huge eyes, well then I'm a good ol' boy. It's the same with people feeling bad for destroying the Companion Cube in Portal. Moral actions, new in shooters but a mainstay in Western RPGs, are only effective when you have a connection to the characters. But there is a situation in every area allowing the player to execute or forgive disreputable characters. The Killing Andrew Ryan Effect loses it's punch when occurring in every level. Whatever you choose, the game moves on without a hitch, ultimately a gimmick. 2K Marin created a more personal sequel littered with familial ties, diatribes of the positive of unity, and decisions that supposedly define your character, but you feel neither proud nor reprehensible during these. Moral decisions lack weight when compared to other games (Dragon Age has you kill off party members you've spent hours with) or in general (you've killed almost every denizen of the city and committed splicer genocide, what's one more body).
Rapture is finished, and BioShock 2 plays best when you light funeral pyres and pile on the hurt rather than fumble around with choice and morals in a FPS of all things. To a fault, 2K Marin listens. From huge inclusions like multiplayer and reworking camera and hacking usage, to menial Internet chatter like how it is Tenenbaum knows what you're doing (there's a camera in your suit), and channeling great game mechanics like Half-Life's gravity gun and Far Cry's dynamic environments, BioShock 2 is again ambitious. Its complexity is wider than it is tall: while the combat isn't as pulse-pounding as Modern Warfare, or very difficult by FPS standards, the method of destruction can be more creative. It still strives above the squabbling masses of FPSs by clumsily injecting misguided sentiment and hollow characters blocking your gun. BioShock 2 is most enjoyable when it doesn't get clouded with a need to prove it can stand against literature or film; video games already trump these. As it stands, BioShock 2 is like its Little Sister, an ugly little thing that, if you stick with it, is rewarding. It won't sway anyone from their initial impression, but it is a fun sandbox FPS with improved changes and increased replayability.
